After charting the path forward for the nation at the convention, the President got a bounce and immediately went on the campaign trail

After the convention, President Obama immediately showed a five-point lead in the Gallup poll, his widest margin since July.Obviously by articulating his own record, - with some help from former President Bill Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama – against Gov. Mitt Romney, he began to turn the Republicans’ ‘better-off, four-years-ago’ referendum question into himself as the only viable choice.

In addition, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as chairman of the convention, did a masterful job in seeing that everything went smoothly – even after changes had to be made on the final day, due to concerns about the weather.

Part of the reason some fellow Democrats appeared to be ‘gun-shy’ when confronted with that question is because of the economy and the unemployment situation.However following the convention, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers issued the following statement: “While there is more work that remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we continue the policies that are building an economy that works for the middle class as we dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007.”

This was followed by a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the previous month that private sector establishments added 103,000 jobs last month, and overall non-farm payroll employment rose by 96,000.In addition, the economy added private sector jobs for 30 straight months, for a total of 4.6 million jobs during that period.According to the President, even though the household survey showed that the unemployment rate declined from 8.3% to 8.1% in August, he is still not satisfied; more needs to be done.

The outcome of the election seems to hinge primarily on jobs, jobs and jobs.Mainly because, if the problems in the housing market and healthcare are solved, individuals and families cannot enjoy those outcomes without gainful employment.

So to create more jobs, especially in the hard-hit areas of the country, President Obama continues to support the elements of the American Jobs Act that is gathering dust in Congress.Furthermore, those jobs include massive investment in infrastructure to rebuild our Nation’s ports, roads and highways, and assistance to state and local governments to prevent layoffs and to enable them to rehire hundreds of thousands of teachers and first responders who have been laid off or are unemployed for any number of other reasons.

The post-convention bounce that the President received had him kicking off a two-day campaign trek through the battleground state of Florida where he told seniors, “I want you to know, I would never turn Medicare into a voucher program.I believe no American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies.”

Now both candidates have begun to prepare for the upcoming debates; there will be three debates. The first and the third will be between Obama and Romney; the second will be between the two vice president candidates.

A professor of American Studies said that from his reading of past presidential debates, he believes the first, to be held at the University of Denver, will focus on the domestic policy: the economy, creating jobs/high unemployment, reducing the deficit and – to a lesser extent – healthcare, immigration, and the future of Medicare.The third debate, at Lynn University, will focus on foreign policy: the war in Afghanistan, the continued terrorist threat, the Middle East and the global economy especially Europe’s.

Meanwhile, the campaign is in full gear as November 6 is rapidly approaching.